For every client, a trusting relationship with their therapists and treatment providers is essential to making progress in their mental health. Trauma-informed care prioritizes creating a trusting relationship so that positive treatment outcomes and adherence are more likely. At Casa Recovery, every client receives trauma-informed care as part of our high quality, individualized treatment approach. Specialized treatment modalities for trauma and PTSD are also available.Many clients who require trauma-focused therapy are experiencing complex trauma. Complex trauma occurs, usually at an early age, when a person is exposed to multiple traumatic events, usually of an invasive and interpersonal nature. Repeated exposure to traumatic events often interferes with a person’s sense of self, which forces a person to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms, like substance use and addiction, to make it from day to day.
Clients experiencing PTSD or dealing with trauma-related symptoms need a high level of trust and a strong therapy regimen to feel relief and break free of their harmful coping techniques. Having access to different therapy modalities is critical for clients to target the roots of their trauma, toxic thoughts and behaviors, and bodily responses to traumatic activations. One modality can’t accomplish all of these essential treatment goals. At Casa, we use a combination of techniques to achieve the most positive treatment outcomes for our clients.
Therapies Used to Treat Trauma and PTSD
The most commonly used therapy for treating trauma and PTSD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.
CBT is a great short-term treatment for Casa clients who may be with us for a short time before transitioning to long-term therapy with their primary provider. At its core, CBT is used to help clients make sense of things. Using this modality helps clients to change their negative thoughts and behaviors by making them aware of the problem areas and their potential causes, then offering skills and coping techniques to change the harmful thoughts and behaviors that plague them. With CBT, clients are in charge of their own treatment progress by completing homework, researching their illness, and empowering themselves to change their lives.
Other common forms of therapy used at Casa for Trauma and PTSD include:
- EMDR
- Exposure Therapy
- Somatic Therapy & Somatic Experiencing ™
EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy is only available to clients at the discretion of the team. Clients who request EMDR or are referred through their primary therapist must be deemed “ready” by their supervising team at Casa Recovery because progress would be unlikely or painful for clients who aren’t.
This therapy technique requires a clinician trained in EMDR to ask clients to recall painful memories while following hand movements to encourage rapid eye movement, similar to what happens when we sleep. In theory, the back and forth eye movement stimulates the brain’s ability to process memory, allowing the client to see connections in their behaviors and empowering them to make long-term changes.
Exposure therapy is often used in conjunction with other therapies at Casa Recovery. A client may or may not undergo exposure therapy based on their schedule or their level of sensitivity. This form of therapy requires the client to experience activations of their trauma in safe and limited amounts to desensitize them and work through their triggers.
Somatic therapy is a holistic but clinically proven supplement to other traditional modalities. Somatic therapy helps clients, through education and experiential practice, to understand that dysregulation comes from what happens in their bodies. Being present and connected with their bodies can help them to heal. Through Casa’s somatic-based groups, clients can practice mindfulness and learn about their somatic experiences.
Our Approach To Treating Trauma and PTSD
At Casa Recovery, every client receives trauma-informed care. While receiving treatment at Casa, we want our clients to know that they are collaborating on their mental health while developing skills around safety, choice, and trustworthiness. Developing these skills requires creating boundaries with the client and maintaining and enforcing them for the duration of their stay. Creating boundaries is a safety feature for the client, as their trauma may have originated from a lack of boundaries with someone else.
Individual and Group Therapy
At the beginning of their stay, clinicians will spend up to three sessions simply getting to know the client, establishing those boundaries and foundations for a trusting relationship. Throughout the week, clients will meet with their individual therapist twice, one-on-one, for an hour apiece; and every morning, they will meet with their individual therapist in a group setting. Meeting with clients often helps ensure that treatment is as effective as possible and that connections are being formed that will motivate and inspire them to succeed.
Another way that we maintain a high quality of care is by meeting frequently to monitor individual progress. As a team, we meet daily for shorter periods of time to make small treatment adjustments. Our weekly meetings are for more extended periods to discuss individual clients, their treatment, their progress, and to prioritize goals and treatment focuses.
Group therapy is an essential piece of recovery for every client at Casa, especially for clients who have turned to maladaptive behaviors to cope with their trauma. Gender-specific trauma groups are incorporated as necessary to ensure each client feels safe to process their trauma in a group setting. Another way that we get to the root of a client’s behaviors and establish a supportive community is through our Family program.
Our Family Program
Casa Recovery’s family program connects with family members or chosen friends within the first few days of a client’s stay. Depending on the client’s needs, family members may be involved through the duration of the client’s stay, late in the client’s stay, or not at all; however, if a family connection is possible, we try our best to initiate it.
Our current program asks families to meet once a month for two hours with our clinical team to learn educational and supportive tools. In addition to these groups, if and when appropriate, families also meet for family therapy once a week as part of a client’s treatment program. We find more family involvement is often necessary.
Casa Recovery’s family program keeps loved ones more involved in the client’s recovery in order to build a support system and create a healthier family dynamic for long-term adherence to treatment goals and recovery.
Continuing Care
After our clients leave Casa Recovery, we work with their primary therapists to make sure they continue to receive treatment for long-term progress. To ensure our clients have the resources and connections they need, we follow up with program graduates to keep the support chain strong and intact.
Trauma and Co-occurring Disorders at Casa Recovery
The strength of our program at Casa Recovery depends on our Dual Diagnosis treatment. Trauma and PTSD likely come with co-occurring disorders like Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Personality Disorders, Eating Disorders and Substance Use Disorders. When this happens, it’s vital to receive simultaneous care for the underlying causes, the symptoms, and the unhealthy coping mechanisms.
At Casa, we work with primary therapists, families, friends, and groups to create connections and healthy behavioral foundations that our clients can lean on for the rest of their lives.
For trauma-informed care that is individually tailored to meet client goals, call Casa Recovery at (888) 928-2272. Our compassionate professionals are here for you to create a treatment program that will give relief from mental health symptoms and give you the tools for long-term change.